Method and system for selective attenuation of preamble reception in co-located WI FI access points

Abstract

A method and system for attenuating a received preamble in an IEEE 802.11 standard may include: a plurality of co-located access points (APs) operative in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard; a preamble detection unit configured to detect a transmission of a preamble in accordance of the IEEE 802.11 standard, by at least one of the co-located APs; and at least one attenuator configured to attenuate a signal received by at least one of the plurality of co-located APs upon detection of the preamble by the preamble detection unit.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A system comprising:
 a plurality of co-located access points (APs) operative in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard; 
 a plurality of preamble detection units associated with the respective plurality of co-located APs, each preamble detection unit configured to detect a transmission of a preamble in accordance of the IEEE 802.11 standard, by at least one of the other co-located APs; 
 a plurality of attenuators associated with the respective plurality of co-located APs, each attenuator configured to attenuate a signal received by its associated AP upon detection by the preamble detection unit of a preamble transmitted by another of the co-located APs; and 
 at least one blanking pulse generator configured to generate a blanking pulse having an amplitude selected such that it desensitizes at least one receiver in at least one of the co-located APs throughout a duration of the preamble as detected by the preamble detection unit. 
 
     
     
       2. The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the attenuation of the received signal is carried out only when the AP transmitting the preamble and the AP receiving the preamble are co-channel. 
     
     
       3. The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the attenuation of the received signal is carried out after being received by an antenna of the receiving AP and prior to entering a receiver of said receiving AP. 
     
     
       4. The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one attenuator comprises said blanking pulse generator. 
     
     
       5. The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is a Multi-Beam Access Point (MBAP) system having Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) functionality, and wherein said attenuation is configured to suppress an activation of the CCA functionality caused by a leakage introduced by co-located AP transmitters. 
     
     
       6. The system according to  claim 4 , wherein the attenuator is configured to apply a variable amount of attenuation which is proportional to a measured residual transmitter to receiver signal leakage. 
     
     
       7. A method comprising:
 transmitting at least one transmit signal via at least one of a plurality of co-located access points (APs) operative in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard; 
 detecting transmission of a preamble in accordance of the IEEE 802.11 standard, by at least one of the APs co-located with the transmitting AP; and 
 attenuating a signal received by at least one of the non-transmitting plurality of co-located APs upon said detection of transmission of the preamble by the transmitting AP, wherein the attenuation is achieved by generating a blanking pulse having an amplitude selected such that it desensitizes at least one receiver in at least one of the co-located APs throughout a duration of the preamble as detected by the preamble detection unit. 
 
     
     
       8. The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the attenuation of the received signal is carried out only whenever the AP transmitting the preamble and the AP receiving the preamble are co-channel. 
     
     
       9. The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the attenuation of the received signal is carried out after being received by an antenna of the receiving AP and prior to entering a receiver of said receiving AP. 
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the method is operable at a Multi-Beam Access Point (MBAP) system having Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) functionality, and wherein said attenuation is configured to suppress an activation of the CCA functionality caused by a leakage introduced by co-located AP transmitters. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the attenuation comprises a variable amount of attenuation which is proportional to a measured residual transmitter to receiver signal leakage. 
     
     
       12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium product having stored thereon instructions which when executed cause a processor to:
 control transmission of at least one transmit signal via at least one of a plurality of co-located access points (APs) operative in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard; 
 detect transmission of a preamble in accordance of the IEEE 802.11 standard, by at least one of the APs co-located with the transmitting AP; and 
 cause attenuation of a signal received by at least one of the non-transmitting plurality of co-located APs upon said detection of transmission of the preamble by the transmitting AP, wherein the attenuation is achieved by generating a blanking pulse having an amplitude selected such that it desensitizes at least one receiver in at least one of the co-located APs throughout a duration of the preamble as detected by the preamble detection unit. 
 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to  claim 12 , wherein the attenuation of the received signal is carried out after being received by an antenna of the receiving AP and prior to entering a receiver of said receiving AP. 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to  claim 12 , wherein the computer program product is operable at a Multi-Beam Access Point (MBAP) system having Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) functionality, and wherein said attenuation is configured to suppress an activation of the CCA functionality caused by a leakage introduced by co-located AP transmitters. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to  claim 14 , wherein the attenuation comprises a variable amount of attenuation which is proportional to a measured residual transmitter to receiver signal leakage. 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to  claim 12 , wherein the attenuation of the received signal is carried out only whenever the AP transmitting the preamble and the AP receiving the preamble are co-channel.